My freshman year of college only has ten more weeks before it is over. It has been an amazing experience. I am glad that I chose to go to school, and that my parents encouraged me to do so. To everyone who encouraged me to forego formal schooling, thank you for your advice, but I have found a place that I want to be for a few more years. Rose-Hulman is an amazing place where I have built relationships with people my own age, something that I have never had much luck with.

One of my reasons for coming to school was to learn more of the theoretical side of Computer Science. I didn’t come to learn how to code. I believe that time in industry can teach practical programming skills better than time at school. Likewise, I believe that to learn about more theoretical Computer Science topics including data structures, compilers, and AI, an academic environment will make that learning easier and more comprehensive. While I know people who are self-taught in these subjects, I do not have the discipline to teach myself, which is why school is a good choice for me.

There is one difficulty that I have found with going to school. At Rose, students are encouraged to find opportunities over the summer. Career Services helps to prepare people for the career fairs, and they do a great job at finding good companies for a lot of the engineering disciplines. They also have relationships with many companies that are looking for CS/SE students. I love that Career Services works so hard for the students, but after the time that I have spent in the best workplaces in the industry, I want to help place my CS/SE classmates into environments where they will learn the best practices our industry has to offer. I didn’t think that this would be a difficult mission, but it has turned out to be increasingly difficult to find companies willing to take on low-skill people and provide mentorship to them. I want to thank all the companies that have heard me out. I thank you for listening, even though you might not hire anyone.

I have been extremely fortunate. My path has given me skills and a network that is very well-connected. I have had multiple offers for an internship this summer, and I am pleased to announce that I will be working with Table XI! Table XI is a consulting firm in Chicago, IL. They are constant learners and have a wide array of interests. I am excited to be part of Table XI this summer, and I can’t wait to start. I want to thank everyone that I interviewed or had an opportunity with, you all made my first year of internship-seeking a very fruitful experience and one that I hope to share with my classmates, so that they can find new and exciting learning opportunities.